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Financial Services UK

  • August 07, 2025

    IFX Ends £3M Bid For Argentex After Administration

    Foreign exchange provider IFX Payments said Thursday it has formally terminated its plans to buy Argentex Group PLC two weeks after the troubled currency risk manager entered administration.

  • August 07, 2025

    FCA Boosts Payment Safeguards To Protect Consumers' Cash

    The Financial Conduct Authority published new rules on Thursday to protect consumers better when they use payment companies, strengthening its ability to intervene when they fail to safeguard clients' money.

  • August 07, 2025

    Insurer Warns Of Pause In Pension Deals Over Gov't Reforms

    Many larger pension schemes have hit pause on plans to carry out insurance transactions while waiting on the government's plan for reforming the sector, an insurer warned Thursday, as it posted falling revenue from the first six months of the year.

  • August 07, 2025

    ABN AMRO Launches €250M Buyback After ECB Clearance

    ABN AMRO has launched a share repurchase program worth as much as €250 million ($292 million) after receiving regulatory clearance, a move expected to lower the Dutch bank's outstanding share capital.

  • August 07, 2025

    Banca Generali To Weigh €6.3B Takeover Bid By Rival Lender

    Italian lender Generali has said it still needs to evaluate a takeover offer from investment bank Mediobanca to acquire it for an estimated €6.3 billion ($7.3 billion) in a deal expected to spur consolidation in the banking industry.

  • August 06, 2025

    Greenwashing Scrutiny Grows Amid Rising ESG Demands

    The increasing significance of environmental, social and governance considerations for businesses has led to a surge in companies overstating their green credentials, according to a report from Watson Farley & Williams LLP.

  • August 06, 2025

    SEC Pursues UK Man's Assets Over $10M Stock Fraud

    The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has launched a legal action in England to enforce a $350,000 U.S. court judgment against a man the agency has alleged was involved in a $10 million fraudulent trans-Atlantic microcap stock trading scheme.

  • August 06, 2025

    FCA Targets Greenwashing With Simpler Climate Rules

    The Financial Conduct Authority set out plans on Wednesday to simplify sustainability reporting to help reduce greenwashing as it responded to feedback from asset managers, life insurers and pension providers that climate disclosures are too complex.

  • August 06, 2025

    Commerzbank Plans €1B Share Buyback After Record Results

    Commerzbank AG said Wednesday it is seeking approval to kick-start a share buyback of up to €1 billion ($1.15 billion), as the European lender disclosed record financial results for the first half of 2025.

  • August 06, 2025

    Insurer L&G Expects £42B Of Pensions Deals In 12 Months

    Insurer Legal & General said Wednesday that it expects at least £42 billion ($56 billion) in transactions designed to reduce risk in U.K. pension plans over the next 12 months, amid surging demand from businesses.

  • August 06, 2025

    HSF Kramer Guides Marsh On £1.9B Pensions Mega-Deal

    British insurer Standard Life said Wednesday that it has acquired £1.9 billion ($2.5 billion) in pension liabilities from broking giant Marsh McLennan, in a deal guided by Linklaters, HSF Kramer and Eversheds Sutherland.

  • August 05, 2025

    Barclays Defends Firing Banker Over Alleged Fee Cover-Up

    A Barclays PLC subsidiary told an employment tribunal on Tuesday that it was entitled to fire an ex-investment banker for allegedly attempting to conceal an error in client interest fees, saying it conducted a thorough investigation and denying the ex-employee's unfair dismissal claims.

  • August 05, 2025

    City Body Urges FCA To Clarify AML Rules For Digital Assets

    A City of London trade body has urged the Financial Conduct Authority to clarify in its future regulations for stablecoin issuers how anti-money laundering rules will apply for digital assets.

  • August 05, 2025

    Companies House To Roll Out Compulsory ID Verification

    Companies House said Tuesday that from November this year it will require company directors to verify their identities, the latest move in the registrar's rollout of heightened powers to protect against fraud.

  • August 05, 2025

    AML Reforms Are Missed Opportunity, Law Society Says

    The government's proposed updates to anti-money laundering regulations will do little to ease the compliance burden on law firms and are a "missed opportunity" to cut unnecessary rules, the body representing solicitors said on Tuesday.

  • August 05, 2025

    Football Club Owner Accused Of Dodging $93M Share Deal

    An investment vehicle has sued John Textor, the former owner of Crystal Palace FC, for allegedly refusing to buy its stake in his company that owns a portfolio of football clubs for $93.6 million, which it claimed is required under an investment deal.

  • August 05, 2025

    FCA Warns Claims Cos. Against Misleading Car Finance Ads

    The Financial Conduct Authority has told claims management companies in a letter to review financial advertising for motor finance claims, after seeing misleading redress rates from the sector and law firms.

  • August 05, 2025

    FCA Issues £46M In Fines For Woodford Fund Failures

    The Financial Conduct Authority has provisionally hit Neil Woodford and Woodford Investment Management with fines totaling £46 million ($61 million) for alleged failures in their management of a flagship £3.7 billion fund that led to its high-profile collapse in 2019.

  • August 04, 2025

    StanChart Can't Withhold Docs In £1.5B Iran Sanctions Case

    Standard Chartered on Monday lost a bid to withhold regulatory documents from investors suing the bank for £1.5 billion ($2 billion) for allegedly making untrue or misleading statements about its noncompliance with sanctions.

  • August 04, 2025

    Court Freezes Couple's £5M Over Alleged Misuse Of Co. Cash

    A London court granted a freezing order Monday worth more than £5.1 million ($6.8 million) against a married couple accused of siphoning funds from a holding company, finding that there is a real risk that they will scatter their assets.

  • August 04, 2025

    Sellers To Pay £5M For Hiding Breaches In Education Biz Sale

    The sellers of a military education business must pay more than £5.2 million ($6.9 million) in damages to the buyer after a court held Monday they had breached the terms of the deal by not disclosing violating funding regulations.

  • August 04, 2025

    VC Firm Beats Ex-Rosenblatt Firm's Legal Bill Appeal

    A venture capital firm beat a City law firm's appeal over costs the firm claimed to be owed for its representation under a conditional fee agreement when a London judge ruled that the financial business could not be criticized for raising an argument late in its dispute about whether it was liable to pay the legal bill.

  • August 04, 2025

    Pensions Dashboards Could Ease UK Inheritance Tax 'Chaos'

    The government could use new online retirement savings portals to ease the expected chaos around introducing inheritance tax on pension wealth, a professional services company said Monday.

  • August 04, 2025

    Accountancy Boss Denies Siphoning Funds During Exit Talks

    A businessman accused of wrongly extracting at least £850,000 ($1.1 million) from an accountancy has denied this was a conspiracy to harm the firm and claimed he was taking out money he considered at the time that he and his wife were owed.

  • August 04, 2025

    UBS To Pay DOJ $300M To Settle Inherited Credit Suisse Case

    Swiss bank UBS said Monday it has agreed to pay the U.S. Department of Justice $300 million to settle outstanding obligations inherited from the mortgage-backed securities business of Credit Suisse, the lender it acquired in 2023.

Expert Analysis

  • Key Takeaways From EU's Coming Digital Act

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    The European Union's impending Digital Operational Resilience Act will necessitate closer collaboration on resilience, risk management and compliance, and crucial challenges include ensuring IT third-party service providers meet the requirements on or before January 2025, says Susie MacKenzie at Coralytics.

  • Cross Market Drill Highlights Operational Resilience Priorities

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    The U.K.’s recent cross-market major infrastructure failure simulation exercise, demonstrates that operational resilience of the financial sector is high on the regulatory agenda, and the findings should ensure that the sector develops collective capabilities to deliver improvements, say lawyers at Taylor Wessing.

  • What Partners Should Know About Net Asset Value Loans

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    The increasing popularity and evolution of net asset value facilities means they continue as an important financing tool to generate liquidity for funds’ portfolios, so general partners looking to capitalize on this expanding market should be mindful of their limited partners' concerns to maximize their value, says Anthony Lombardi at Dechert.

  • What The Future Of AI In Financial Services Looks Like

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    Artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming the global financial services industry, with a hybrid model likely to evolve where AI handles routine tasks and humans focus on strategy and decision-making, so financial institutions should work with regulators to establish ethical standards and meet regulatory expectations without stifling innovation, say lawyers at Womble Bond.

  • FCA Survey Results Reveal Rise In Nonfinancial Misconduct

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    After a Financial Conduct Authority survey recently reported a significant rise in nonfinancial misconduct, there are a number of preventive steps firms should take to create a healthy workplace environment and mitigate the risk of increased regulatory scrutiny, say lawyers at WilmerHale.

  • When Investigating An Adversary, Be Wary Of Forged Records

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    Warnings against the use of investigators who tout their ability to find an adversary’s private documents generally emphasize the risk of illegal activity and attorney discipline, but a string of recent cases shows an additional danger — investigators might be fabricating records altogether, says Brian Asher at Asher Research.

  • What UK Security Act Report Indicates For Future Gov't Policy

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    Following the recent publication of the National Security and Investment Act report on the scrutiny of proposed investments, it will be interesting to see how the act’s powers fit into a government policy that plans to cut regulatory obstacles, while maintaining a hard line on national security, say lawyers at Katten Muchin.

  • Examining UK And EU Approaches To Sanctions Enforcement

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    In light of the Financial Conduct Authority’s recent £28.9 million fine of Starling Bank for its lax sanctions screening processes, businesses should understand both the U.K.’s and the European Union’s enforcement approaches, the larger sanctions landscape and the importance of cooperation, says Angelika Hellweger at Rahman Ravelli.

  • Factors Driving EU Competition Policy For The Next 5 Years

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    Teresa Ribera Rodríguez’s recent nomination as the new European Union commissioner for competition prompts questions about policy and enforcement, with goals to enhance competition in business, implement stronger and faster enforcement, and promote and fund decarbonization likely in her sights during a five-year term, say lawyers at Linklaters.

  • What UK Procurement Act Delay Will Mean For Stakeholders

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    The Procurement Act 2023’s delay until February 2025 has sparked debate among contracting authorities and suppliers, and the Labour Party’s preference for a broader reform package demonstrates the challenges involved in implementing legislative changes where there is a change in government, say lawyers at Shoosmiths.

  • How Energy Scheme Is Affecting Large Co. Fund Investment

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    The latest phase of the Department of Energy and Climate Change's Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme implicates funds with investments in large companies by establishing significant and complex changes to the reporting cycle for mandatory assessments, say lawyers at Macfarlanes.

  • How Companies House Enforcement Powers Are Growing

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    Companies House's recently increased ability to assess what material is submitted to the U.K. register of companies, and to proportionately enforce where violations have occurred, may require some degree of cultural shift within many companies, say lawyers at Greenberg Traurig.

  • How New Sanctions Office Will Affect UK Trade Landscape

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    The recent launch of the Office of Trade Sanctions Implementation will help to create a more comprehensive civil enforcement terrain, but the potential for multiple investigations means businesses should reassess their systems to ensure they do not inadvertently incur civil liability, says Julia Pearce at Robertson Pugh.

  • FCA Savings Update Focuses On Good Customer Outcomes

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    The Financial Conduct Authority’s recent cash savings update emphasizes its expectations of firms to deliver fair value to consumers by documenting the rationale for actions at each stage, considering customer communications and demonstrating that potential harms are acted upon, say Matt Handfield, Charlotte Rendle and Caroline Hunter-Yeats at Simmons & Simmons.

  • 5 Takeaways From UK Justices' Arbitration Jurisdiction Ruling

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    The U.K. Supreme Court's recent judgment in UniCredit Bank v. RusChemAlliance, upholding an injunction against a lawsuit that attempted to shift arbitration away from a contractually designated venue, provides helpful guidance on when such injunctions may be available, say attorneys at Fladgate.

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